The Prime Minister’s comments this morning on Breakfast that Wellington landlords should ignore market signals and poorly designed public policy, and instead just look to ‘morality’ for economic guidance were disappointing says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

Taxpayers’ Union Economist Joe Ascroft says “The reason Wellington rents are increasing more than other parts of the country isn’t because Wellington landlords are especially immoral. Rents are increasing because the new Government used taxpayer money to increase the incomes of students while doing nothing to reduce supply constraints on housing.”

“The Prime Minister is correct to say that landlords are selfish. One of the foundational pillars of economic theory is that people act in their own best interest. Good public policy assumes that to be true, rather than hoping for a miracle in human behavior.”

“If the best the Prime Minister has to offer in solutions for Wellington housing supply is a plea for morality, renters shouldn’t expect any change to the environment of accelerating rent increases.”

If you watch the video above you can see Ardern threatening landlords.

When you have politicians calling on morals you do have to wonder if they’ve run out of ideas.

But, since she raised morals… what is her position on class A drugs? Should landlords act against tenants using… say… cocaine in rental properties? What is the moral thing to do then?

-Taxpayers Union, Facebook

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As much at home writing editorials as being the subject of them, Cam has won awards, including the Canon Media Award for his work on the Len Brown/Bevan Chuang story. And when he’s not creating the news, he tends to be in it, with protagonists using the courts, media and social media to deliver financial as well as death threats.

They say that news is something that someone, somewhere, wants kept quiet. Cam Slater doesn’t do quiet, and as a result he is a polarising, controversial but highly effective journalist that takes no prisoners.